Art & Critique

Vincent van Gogh: Potato Eaters

Sometimes, during family reunions, when everybody is at the table, eating, a sudden moment of silence intrudes and makes itself almost palpable. Only the chewing sounds are heard, and everyone becomes, just for a second, very self-conscious and uncomfortable, — until someone talks again, and the strange sensation is gone. Such a moment is captured in this painting; though, without the uneasiness, as it appears a less festive and tense gathering. In fact, the only one who might feel uncomfortable, is the viewer — the intruder on this rather intimate scene.

The Potato-Eaters, c.1885 Buy From Art.com

The first thing that struck me as unusual was how these faces resemble each other. They are almost identical, and I don’t think that family resemblance can account for this peculiarity. Perhaps the artist wasn’t (yet) very proficient in rendering different countenances, and went for a general, summarizing look. But I don’t really like this argument, as it goes beyond the capacity of judgment of what’s at hand. It is best to interpret this phenomenon as if it was a deliberate artistic device. Historically, identical faces appeared in early icons and frescoes, where depicted figures represented saints or apostles, rather than replicated actual people. They needed to convey a universal message, and so were their faces: without much detail, clear geometrical forms for the eyes and other features — that way anybody could empathize and internalize the message.

Here the faces represent the worker, or the farmer. They appear tired and worried; perhaps tired of the worries, too. The man’s face radiates quiet dignity, while the woman on the utmost right shows bitterness and disillusionment. These are the two edges of the usual emotional spectrum of this family. The other two eaters appear more neutral; consumed by the meal, they appropriately sit in between the two outermost characters. Interestingly, we do not see the face of the girl — perhaps an indication of hope and opportunity. She stands right in the middle, which may also imply that she is yet to be swayed to either direction, and to become either like her father, accepting and calm, or like her grandmother, embittered and frustrated.

There is a single source of light, right above the plate loaded with the potatoes — a compositional placement that marks food as the central concern for those who gathered around the table. This meal could be the only bright moment in these people’s lives, so this lamp may also bear a symbolic meaning. Formally, this piece is not yet impressionistic, not to speak of post-impressionism. Van Gogh made a few stylistic leaps during his career, but this painting was completed before any of them occurred. It makes one wonder how he would have evolved had he not moved to Paris.

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Realism, Vincent van Gogh. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.